In particular in the construction of vehicles, it is necessary to set a specific switched state between the vehicle or the vehicle frame and a movable component of the vehicle such as, for example, a door, a tailgate, a trunk lid or an engine hood. In this context, switching processes are also to be carried out reliably or else status signal displays are to be given reliably. Therefore, for example when a door, a tailgate or a trunk lid is opened, a light is to be switched on which reliably goes out again after the door, the tailgate or the trunk lid closes. In a similar way, a status signal is also to be produced in the manner of a sensor which indicates the position of the movable component with respect to the vehicle, such as, for example the display of an open door on the driver's dashboard.
The known electrical switching apparatuses and status display apparatuses are frequently composed of a microswitch which, when the movable component opens and closes, responds and at the same time also produces or disconnects an electrical connection. In a function as a status display, the apparatus signals an open door, for example.
However, a disadvantage for satisfactory functioning of the known switching apparatuses is that the movable components are usually elastically connected to the vehicle by means of seals. This means that in the driving state relative movements can occur between the movable component and the vehicle, and vibrations may also be produced. If these relative movements or vibrations are very strong, the switching apparatus or status display apparatus may respond despite a closed position and display a supposed change in state such as, for example, through flickering of the internal light or of the display of the door which is supposedly open. This risk occurs, in particular, in the case of sliding doors of vehicles in which two different movement sequences occur, specifically a sliding process in a first step and subsequently a swiveling-in process while the door is still swiveled out in the rear region, in which case a slight sliding movement of the door still occurs during the last swiveling-in process. The switching device is intended to respond only after this.
If an excessively large amount of play occurs within the range of the last sliding process, which can amount to several millimeters, owing to vibrations or even tolerances in the driving operation, it is possible, for example, for the switching apparatus to respond incorrectly.